Jacob Burcham - Photo by Rollie Jacobs
US#7 Jacob Burcham and his coach, Chris Parsons, have decided to take a much needed break from running and skip the Foot Locker South Regional and the Nike Cross National events in order to prepare for the upcoming track season. From a selfish standpoint we all feel let down, but this is the right thing to do.
Excerpts from Cabell Midland's web site:
“In the past year, Jacob Burcham has traveled to many places competing in the sport of Cross Country and Track. Places like New York, Philadelphia, Myrtle Beach, Portland, and abroad to Lille, France. He has set state and American records along with winning many titles in the process. Burcham added another National title to his credentials and only had to travel in his own backyard to do it.
The Footlocker South Regional's are next weekend in Charlotte, NC at McAlphine Park. Midland's Tyler Salmons and Jorden Thornton will be making the trip south in hopes of running a fast time to end their 2011 Cross Country season. The rest of the Midland crew will be taking a couple of weeks off before stating the 2012 track season preparations.
Some may wonder why Jacob Burcham is not competing in the Footlocker or NXN as he did last year. Last year Burcham qualified for the NXN Finals and placed 16th in the nation making 3rd Team All-American. After a long year of racing in Cross Country and not ending his track season until July at the Youth World Championship in Lille, France, Burcham and his coach decided to shut it down for the 2011 Cross Country season and do what is best for Jacob's high school career. Burcham will take a well deserved break from running, but you can assure he will soon begin preparing for the much anticipated 2012 track season. Jacob plans to continue where he left off from his stellar sophomore season and improve the 3:46.55 1500 meters performance, which is equivalent to a 4:04 actual mile and 4:03 1600 meters."
This is a big blow to the national scene for a runner of Burcham's caliber to elect not to compete, but who can argue with the success of Burcham. Congratulations to Jacob and we look forward to continuing to watch his future successes.
